Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Legends of Aternia
by doopafloopa
Summary: Eli wakes to find himself not only transported to the world of Pokemon, but has become a Pokemon himself. He is then quickly rescued by and befriends two Pokemon who lead him on a journey across the kingdom of Aternia. However, he soon becomes entangled in a plot that threatens the peace within Aternia. Will he be able to save the kingdom, or will he die trying?
1. Friend Or Foe?

Chapter 1 - Friend or Foe?

 **Disclaimer: There will be death, blood, and very loose swearing. You have been warned. Also, I don't own Pokémon.**

"Are you sure the rumor you heard was right," the Sevine asked his partner as they walked on . path.

His partner, who was a Mawile, just sighed. "Yes. I'm positive. Besides, if the Order won't protect the smaller villages, it's up to us. So, if we hear anything, we should investigate it."

"What if it's a trap," the Servine asked.

"We have to take risks," the Mawile answered. "If we dont answer because we suspect it's a trap and it's not, then there's no reason for us to be doing this. But if it is a trap and we answer, we either stand our ground, or die fighting."

The Servine shook his head. "Well, if I _had_ to choose, I'd prefer to live, thank you very much."

The Mawile chuckled. "I never said we have to die. I just said we have to take risks."

 **Dusk Woods**

Eli suddenly woke up. He was breathing heavily. _Ugh... My head...,_ he thought.

He then put his hand to his forehead, then panicked when he felt fur. Slowly, he looked down, and saw something he didn't expect. His body was covered in blue fur, and his hands and feet ended in .oooo fur. He then reached further up on his head, and discover he now had large ears. He olooked behind him and saw that he had two large blue and white tails.

 _Okay, I'm definitely not human any more, but how did I get here,_ Eli thought. _I-I can't remember! What happened?_

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a growl behind him. He turned and came face to face with a Mightyena. Slowly, he stood up and began backing away. As he backed away, four more Mightyena appeared behind the first one.

 _Okay, not good. I'm at a disadvantage. I can't stay and fight, so I have to escape as soon as I can._

The Mightyena continued to approached slowly. Suddenly, the lead Mightyena tensed.

 _Now._ Eli quickly turned and ran away from the Mightyena as it attempted to bite ooohim. As he ran, he heard the Mightyena howl. Soon, he began to hear the sound of them running.

 _Just need to keep running._ Eli picked up his pace, dodging trees and fallen logs as he ran. Soon he saw thick brush. Quickly he ran through it.

On the other side of the brush, there was a dirt pathway that seemed to stretch through the forest both ways endlessly. He heard the Mightyena approaching, so he chose a direction and followed the path that _way._

 _Keep running._ Eli ran as quickly as he could down the path. The Mightyena then jumped through the brush onto the pathway. _Damn. Just keep running._ Soon, he saw two figures further down the path and ran towards them. As Eli came closer, the two figures finally noticed him. It was a Servine and a Mawile. They shared a glance, then noticed the Mightyena behind him.

Quickly, they charged the pack head on. The Servine quickly generated a large, green tornado and launched it at the Mightyena. It hit them dead on, incapacitating three of them. The Mawile clawed at another Mightyena, her arm coated in a silver light. The attack hit the Mightyena dead on, disabling it.

The final Mightyena dodged the two attackers and lunged at Eli. He instinctivooooely threw his arms up to shield himself. Suddenly, a greenish-blue bubble formed around him. The Mightyena ran into the bubble, hitting it hard enough to disorient itself. Quickly, the Mawile charged the Mightyena. She clawed at it, knocking it out.

As the bubble dropped from around Eli, he glanced around at the now unconscious Mightyena. He then glanced towards the Mawile and the Servine. _They sure make a great team,_ Eli thought.

"Are you okay," a voice asked. Eli jumped at the sudden question. He turned around to see who had asked. It was the Mawile.

"Oh, um... I'm fine, I guess," Eli responded. _I guess I really am a Pokémon. I can understand what they're saying._

"Hey Sara, how's the Meowstic," the Servine asked.

 _Meowstic,_ Eli thought. _I guess that's what I am._

"He says he's fine," The Mawile, Sara, responded.

The Servine nodded. "Great. Now," he turned to Eli, "What were you doing out here by yourself?"

 _Should I tell them,_ Eli thought. _I don't want to lie to them, and it's not like I know anything, so I can't make anything up._ Eli sighed. "I-I can't remember..."

The Servine tilted his head. "You can't remember?"

Sara shook her head. "Leon, don't tell me you believe him."

"W-What," Leon asked. "What do you mean?"

"This could easily be a trap." Eli was silent. _Please believe me..._

"So, what do you propose we do," Leon asked

"We leave him to the Mightyena," Sara suggested. "They must've had a reason to chase him."

"Yeah, no. We're taking him with us."

"What?! Why would we do that?"

"Because, I believe him. So I'm going to help him." Eli sighed with relief. "Also," Leon added, "I believe it was you who said we should take risks." He then turned to Eli. "We can't help you get your memories back, but we can bring you to the nearest village. Just follow us." Eli nodded.

Sara shook her head, then began walking down the path again. Leon just chuckled and followed after her. Eli followed closely behind him.

 **Hours later...**

"The sun's setting," Leon said to Sara. "We need to stop soon."

Sara nodded. "Let's find a spot to set up camp for the night." Eli nodded.

The three of them left the path and walked towards the edge of the woods. After finding the ideal spot, Leon and Sara began setting up camp.

For the first time, Eli got a good look at the pair.

Leon had a pair of goggles that rested on his head, and single leather strap across his body. He also carried a leather bag that was filled with what looked like herbs and berries.

Sara was a little shorter than Leon, and her forearms were wrapped in leather. Eli then noticed she had a scar across her chest.

Soon, they had a fire built, and were sitting around it.

"So, amnesiac," Leon began, "what's your name?"

"M-My name," Eli asked. "It's... Eli."

"Nice to meet you, Eli. As you've probably heard, my name's Leon." He then pointed to Sara. "And the rude Pokémon over there is Sara."

"Rude," Sara asked. "How?"

"Well, you suggested we leave Eli with the Mightyena back there. In my opinion, that's pretty damn rude."

"I just threw out a possibility. This could still be a trap."

"A trap," Eli asked.

"Yeah, well," Leon began, "Let's just say, Sara and I aren't exactly on the good side of the law."

"You mean, you and Sara are criminals?"

"Well, sort of. The law is after us, but we haven't done anything wrong."

Sara punched the ground. "The damn Order is the criminal."

"The... Order," Eli asked.

"The Order of Knights, or 'Order' for short, is the kingdom's peace keeping force," Leon responded. "They keep their form of peace by silencing any small amount of unrest. Leveling the origin point and killing both innocent and guilty Pokémon."

"They branded us outlaws for protecting the poorer villages," Sara said angrily. "We've been fighting against them for several years now."

"Wait, years," Eli asked, surprised.

Leon nodded. "We've been hunted by the Order for about three years."

"How have you not been caught?"

Leon grinned. "Intuition, my dear friend. That's all you need. Well, that and help from the villages we protect."

"We don't ask for anything in return when we help," Sara explained. "Sometimes, the villagers will offer us food, or even shelter for the night. That's how we survive."

"Speaking of food," Leon said, digging in his bag. He then pulled out three large, blue berries and threw them towards Eli and Sara, who caught them. "Sorry that it's not much. I only have these three Oran berries left."

"Th-Thanks Leon," Eli said. He then bit into the berry.

 **Hours later...**

Soon, Leon and Sara fell asleep. Eli, however, couldn't stop thinking. _I became a Pokémon somehow. I need to know how. And if I can reverse it. But, where do I start?_ He then looked at Leon and Sara. _I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay with them for a while. All this worrying isn't going to help me fall asleep. I should just try to relax._ Eli then began to let his mind wander and soon, he fell asleep as well.

 **The next morning...**

Eli awoke to the feeling of something poking his shoulder. When he opened his eyes he turned over and came face to face with Leon.

"Wake up, it's time to start walking again," he said with a smile.

Eli stood up and shook himself awake. "Are you two always up this early," he asked

Leon shrugged. "When you're on the run, you can't sleep in." Eli chuckled.

"You good to go Leon," Sara asked.

"Whenever you are," Leon responded. Sara nodded and the three of them continued down the path.

After a little walking, Eli decided to finally get some answers.

"Hey, Leon," Eli said. "I have some thing to ask."

"Okay, what's on your mind," Leon asked.

"C-Could you tell me about where we are? Thanks to my amnesia, I don't remember anything about this place." _Or this world for that matter,_ Eli added mentally.

"A history lesson, eh? I'd be happy to oblige." He then cleared his throat.

"This is the Kingdom of Aternia," Leon said. "This is the largest kingdom on the continent."

"The kingdom itself is split into three large provinces. There's the Greater North, the Eastern Plains, and the Mountains of Y'llas. all of which rely on the others to provide materials they need, but can't produce. The North provides lumber, the Plains provide food, and the Mountains provide coal and metal. All of the kingdom is ruled over by a king. And although we should have a royal hierarchy, the Order has taken control."

As Leon said that last sentence, the anger in his voice grew. He sighed, then continued. "The Order itself, however, is also a hierarchy. The highest position you can obtain in the Order is Grandmaster, who is in charge of all knights in the kingdom, and is. the king's right hand. That is then followed by Generals, who are in charge of all knights within a section of the kingdom. There are three Generals within the Order, one for each province. Then, there's the Captains, who are in charge of all knights within a defined area. There's at least fourty or fifty captains within the Order. And finally, there's the Officers. They are in charge of all knights within a city."

Leon looked at Eli and paused when he saw his expression. "Am I going to fast?"

Eli shook his head. "It's just a lot to take all at once."

"All right then. I'll stop for now. I will tell you the rest later."

"I-I'd also like to know where we're headed now."

"Well, we're headed to a village named Shade. And before you ask why, I'll have to keep that to myself."

 _He still doesn't totally believe me,_ Eli thought. _I was hoping he trusted me at least a little._

Eli then nodded and the two of them walked in silence.

 **Hours later...**

The sun was now overhead, and Eli, Sara, and Leon had been walking nonstop. Then, their prayers were answered. The entrance to Shade had just come into view.


	2. True Colors

Chapter 2 - True Colors

Shade itself was a small village, only having seven houses within its borders. The town was also lacking in defenses as well. As they approached, Eli noticed that there wasn't many Pokémon outside.

 _Something is definitely... off,_ Eli thought. _What happened?_

"So," Leon began, "This is Shade."

Sara sighed. "Not much to look at, but it's still a welcome sight."

"Wow. First you're rude to Eli, now the village? How cruel," Leon chuckled. Eli couldn't help but chuckle as well, causing Sara to sigh in annoyance.

"W-What now," Eli asked as they approached the center of the village.

"Well," Leon began, before suddenly cutting himself off. He quickly motioned for them to hide behind a house.

After they hid, Eli asked, "W-What's happening?"

"It's the Order," Leon said in a level tone, pointing towards a Blaziken semiclad in white armor. On the armor there was a gold "omega" symbol, with a small shield in the center of it.

The Blaziken was talking with an older looking Meganium, who looked very displeased. Eli could just about hear what they were saying.

"Ma'am, this will be the last damn time I tell you this," the Blaziken said angrily. "Every village under the kingdom's rule requires at least one dispatch of knights."

"And this will be the last time I tell you this, sir. We do not have the food or space to accommodate any more Pokémon. We can barely sustain ourselves, much less an entire Officer's platoon."

The Blaziken sighed. "Very well. We won't forget this slight." He then turned to leave.

"A good day to you too, sir," the Meganium replied.

Once they were sure the Blaziken had left, the three of them made their way over to the Meganium.

"That was close," she mumbled. The Meganium then looked up and noticed the trio approaching.

"Oh! Hello," she said. "Welcome to Shade. What brings the three of you out here?"

"We're here to help with the Order problem ma'am," Sara responded.

 _That's why they're here,_ Eli thought. _Why didn't he tell me?_

"Wait, you're Leon and Sara, aren't you," the Meganium asked skeptically. They both nodded.

She then breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the heavens. I was starting to worry about how long I could keep refusing the Order's demands. Now that you're here, maybe you could rid us of this menace. Is there anything we can do to help?"

Leon shook his head. "When the battle breaks out you get everyone inside."

The Meganium nodded. "Thank you again for coming to help." She then motioned towards one of the small houses. "This home is currently empty. You three can stay there while you need to." She then turned and walked back to her home.

"W-Well, what now," Eli asked.

"Leon and I will get ready for the upcoming battle," Sara responded.

"W-What about me?"

"You will stay in the house and get comfortable, because after we defend Shade, you're staying here."

"What," Leon asked loudly.

"What do you mean what," Sara asked back.

"I want to know why we're leaving him."

"It's obvious. He can't fucking defend himself, and we can't babysit him forever."

"You don't know if he can fight. If I remember correctly, Mightyenas are dark type Pokémon, and Meowstic are psychic types. He literally couldn't touch them."

 _I... I could've died and couldn't have fought back,_ Eli thought. That sent chills down his spine.

"Fine. You want him to fight," Sara said angrily. "Then he need to prove himself."

"W-What," Leon asked.

"Eli and I are going to fight." She responded flatly. "He wins, he stays with us. I win, he stays here. Simple."

"Sara, I'm not so sure about this."

"I am. You seem so damn keen on bringing him with us, but if he can't fight, he becomes an obstacle."

Before Leon could protest further, Eli spoke up. "Okay, I'll do it."

"What," Leon asked. "A-Are you sure?"

Eli nodded.

"Alright then," Sara said. "Let's do this somewhere outside of town."

They search for an area to fight outside of town. Quickly, they came across a large clearing in the trees close to town.

Eli went to one side of the clearing while Sara went to the other. Both of them got into fighting stances. They both waited for the other to make the first move.

Suddenly, Sara charged forward, her arm cloaked in silver light. Quickly, Eli dodged it and attempted to strike back. He focused on Sara, hoping something would happen. Suddenly, a purple ball formed in front of Eli, and shot out towards Sara, hitting her side.

She grunted, but charged Eli again. This time, she swung the mouth on the back of her head forward. It's teeth were surrounded by dark energy. Eli attempted to dodge, but it caught him in the leg and latched onto it, drawing blood. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

Sara used the mouth on her head to hold him in place. She turned around and drew her arm back.

"You got a good hit on me, I'll give you that. But you were clearly out matched." Her arm began to glow with silver light again. She then clawed at Eli.

Before she made contact, Eli, as if by second nature, raised his ears. His eyes began to glow white, and Sara was sent flying backwards by a huge blast of psychic energy. She hit a tree with a loud thud, then fell to the ground.

Eli lowered his ears, and his eyes returned to normal. "W-What," was all he could ask before passing out.

Quickly, Leon ran over to Sara, who was bleeding from her mouth. "D-Damn. What happened," she asked.

"I'm not sure," Leon responded while digging out an Oran berry. "All I saw was you suddenly fly back, and Eli fall to the ground."

"Is he unconscious?"

Leon handed her the berry, then shrugged. "I'm not sure. Does that mean you win if he is?"

Sara shook her head. "No. I know when I'm beat. He is stronger than I thought, and can hold his own. All we need to do is help him train."

Leon nodded. "Awesome. Now eat that berry while I go check on him."

Sara chuckled, then, after Leon had walked away, quietly said, "Welcome to hell, Eli."

 **Several hours later...**

Eli woke up suddenly, breathing heavily. He glanced around quickly, trying to figure out where he was. He relaxed somewhat when he saw Leon and Sara sleeping. Eli slowed his breathing and looked around slowly. He was in what seemed like a wooden building. _I guess we're in the house the Meganium gave us._ Slowly, he got up and quietly left the house.

The air outside was cool and dry. No one was awake, so it was very quiet. This allowed Eli to think.

 _What happened during that fight? All I remember was her almost clawing me then suddenly, she was on the other side of the clearing._ As he thought, he walked around the town. He then saw a faint light in the distance. He looked back at the house Leon and Sara were sleeping in.

 _Sorry if I don't come back before you wake up,_ Eli thought. He then headed towards the light.

As he approached the light, he heard the voice of the Blaziken that had argued with the Meganium earlier.

"Be prepared to march soon. We will attack tonight and burn Shade to the ground."

The knights under his command, Eli estimated there were about twenty, all responded with a "Yes sir!"

 _I need to warn Leon and Sara,_ he thought, and he quickly ran back to Shade.


	3. Secrets, Stories, and Survivors

Chapter 3 - Secrets, Stories, and Survivors

When Eli began to head back, he heard the small amount of chatter coming from the knights vanish. He looked to see what was happening, and saw the the knights preparing to mobilize.

 _Dammit. I need to warn Leon and Sara._

 **Meanwhile, in Shade...**

"Sara wake up." Leon prodded Sara lightly. She groaned. Leon chuckled. "You know we have to get up. That Blaziken could order an attack at any minute."

With that, Sara sighed, sat up, and looked around. She stopped when she saw that Eli wasn't in the house.

"Where's Eli?"

Leon shrugged. "I heard him leave earlier. He's probably still getting some fresh air."

" _Still_? How long has he been out there?"

"Calm down, its only been a couple of minutes. I'm certain he'll be back shortly."

"That's putting a lot of faith in him."

"What? What does that mean?"

"Well I was just wondering... Do you trust Eli?"

Leon tilted his head. "What? Why?"

"Just answer the damn question."

"I guess kind of trust him. we know very little about him, but he doesn't seem like the sort of Pokémon to lie."

"Well, I-"

She was interrupted as Eli entered the house, breathing heavily.

Leon walked over to him. "Eli? What's the matter?"

He caught his breath, then said, "It's that Blaziken. He's coming."

Leon and Sara quickly exchanged looks, then the three of them ran outside.

They were met with the sight of the Blaziken's platoon marching towards Shade.

"Leon, go warn the villagers."

"But Sara-"

"No. Go warn them they need to know. I can defend the town."

Leon sighed. "Alright. Just be safe."

"We will."

Eli was shocked. _We?_

Leon then began running house to house.

"Are you ready Eli?"

"I-I'm... not sure. I'll try my best."

Sara nodded, then turned to face the incoming knights.

The platoon consisted only of fire types, and was headed by the Blaziken. They stopped at the edge of the village, face to face with Eli and Sara.

No words were said. The Blaziken the raised his hand and every knight began charging an attack. Eli and Sara braced themselves. He then dropped his hand and pointed forward.

"Fire!" Every knight launched their attack at once. They all sailed past Sara and Eli.

Eli looked around. "What-"

 _Boom!_

Eli and Sara turned to see an entire house get engulfed in flames. Sara quickies turned to the Blaziken. "You bastard! What did they do to deserve that?!"

The Blaziken just laughed. "The local leader denied me and my men quarter within this village. This is just the Order's protocol. Something you should be very familiar with... Sara." He then raised his hand again. "Attack!" The knights charged.

Sara was immediately set upon by most of them. Suddenly, pointed rocks shot up around her, launching some knights, while the others were impaled by them. The Blaziken then charged her.

Eli was having a much more difficult time with his fight. He was able to keep the knights back with a volley of Shadow Balls, but he was tiring fast.

 _How do Pokémon keep this up?! I'm already at my limit, while they're just warming up..._

Eli began to slow down, when a Houndour ran in. He took the chance to Bite Eli, catching him on the leg. The Houndour bit down hard, and Eli cried out in pain. He could feel blood running out of the wound.

"Dammit! Get off!" Eli kicked at the Houndour, and kept kicking until he caught him in the eye.

The Houndour grunted and let go. "You'll pay for that," he growled.

Suddenly, a blade made of green energy stabbed into the Houndour's side. He howled in pain, and fell on his side.

Eli looked up to see Leon standing over him, offering him his hand. Eli took it and tried to stand, but fell to one knee, grunting in pain. He looked down to see a deep gash on his ankle.

Eli shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Go help Sara."

Leon nodded and he ran over to where she was.

Sara was matching the Blaziken blow for blow, but her type disadvantage was beginning to show. She was slowing down, and both her and the Blaziken knew it.

"This was fun, Sara. Too bad I'll have to cut it short." His foot was then engulfed in flames, and he charged. Sara couldn't bring up her arms in time, and she took the full force of the kick to the face. She was sent flying backwards.

"Sara," Leon cried out. He then turned towards the Blaziken. "You're going to pay."

He chuckled. "Oh, am I? Which one of you could possibly do anything to me?"

Leon growled, created another blade of green energy, and charged the Blaziken.

The Blaziken shook his head. "Eager to die? Don't worry, I'll oblige."

Eli was kneeling nearby, unable to stand due the wound on his leg. "What can I do...? I can't stand, and I'm exhausted, but I can't just sit here and let them die." Suddenly, he thought of something. "I hope this works."

Leon couldn't keep up with the Blaziken's speed, and he took blow after blow. "You made a massive mistake when you challenged me." His foot caught fire again. "Now die!" He then charged Leon, but before he could land the kick, his body was surrounded in a blue aura and he couldn't move.

"Wh-What?! What's going on?!"

Leon stopped and looked around quickly. He then saw Eli kneeling, his eyes glowing a bright blue.

Focusing on the Blaziken, Eli used Psychic lift him into the air. "I'm not going to let them die. They saved my life. I owe them." The Blaziken rose even higher.

"Take this!" Eli then sent the Blaziken pummeling towards the ground. When he hit the ground, there was a sickening crunch and the Blaziken cried out in pain.

Eli was exhausted. He stood up and limped over to the Blaziken. He was shocked to see that his attack had broken both of the Blaziken's legs and that he was bleeding badly.

"Y-You... bastard... how dare you?" He was struggling to speak through the pain.

"You were going to kill them... I couldn't let that happen."

He then limped over to Leon, and offered him his hand. Leon looked up, took Eli's hand, and stood up. He was bleeding and bruised all over.

"Is he dead?"

Eli shook his head. "Both of his legs are broken."

Leon chuckled. "Damn. That's impressive." A worried expression then crossed his face. "Sara!" He ran to where she had landed.

Eli had to look away when he first saw her. Her face was bleeding excessively. Leon didn't seem to notice, and was hurriedly digging in his bag.

"Where are they, where are they?" Quickly, he pulled an Oran berry out and fed it to Sara. "Please... Please be okay..."

Suddenly, Sara began coughing, and her eyes opened slowly. "Leon...?"

"Sara..."

"I'm not dead yet..."

"Dammit Sara. Don't do that to me again..."

Sara could barely force out a chuckle.

Eli fell to the ground. "It's over."

Leon shook his head. "Not yet. That bastard's still alive. I'm going to finish this."

"He doesn't need to die."

Leon shook his head again. "This is war. Someone always dies. You just have to make sure it isn't someone you care about."

"But-"

Leon ignored Eli and walked over to the Blaziken.

"No more to say?" Leon created another blade of green energy and held it up to the Blaziken's chest. The Blaziken said nothing. "Fine." He then drove the blade through the Blaziken's chest. "Good riddance." Leon then turned to Sara and Eli.

"Eli, you stay with her. I'm going to go get the villagers and see if there's a doctor with them." Eli nodded, and Leon ran into the forest.

Eli was stunned. _L-Leon just... killed him._ He stared at the corpse of the Blaziken. _He didn't deserve this._ Eli then remembered where the first attack struck.

His eyes found the ruins of a home, still burning to the ground. _They attacked with the intention to kill innocent Pokémon. He had to be stopped._ Eli sighed. _The Order has to be stopped, there's no way around that. I just-_ His thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the distance.

Leon finally returned with the villagers, and quickly ran over to the duo, accompanied by a Grovyle.

"I brought a doctor. She said she could at least stop the bleeding for now."

The Grovyle nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry I can't do more right now."

She then began wrapping their wounds in crude bandages; just enough to stem the bleeding and dull the pain.

As soon as the two had been bandaged, the Meganium they met the morning before approached them. "I can't thank you enough for protecting our village."

"No problem, ma'am," Leon responded, with a smile. "It's what we do."

"You can call me Sol. Is there anything we can do to repay you?"

"Food and a place to stay for the night, if possible."

"We can give you food, and we have space in the infirmary. However, it isn't a very large place."

"What about the house we were using," Sara asked.

"Well, one of the houses was destroyed by those knights, so we need that home now. I'm sorry."

Leon nodded. "That's fine. They can stay at the infirmary. I'll find somewhere to stay."

"Leon, are you sure?" Sara's voice was filled with worry.

"How many times have I slept outside? I'm sure. You two need to recover more than I do."

"Is that all you need," Sol asked.

Leon nodded. "Yes. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Very well. I will arrange for some food be set aside for you three. It won't be much, but its all we can offer. I hope you all recover quickly." With that she departed and began helping the villagers.

"I take it the two of you will be joining me in the infirmary tonight," the Grovyle asked Eli and Sara. They nodded. "Alright. I'll go prepare the beds then."

"Thank you again," Leon called out.

The Grovyle just turned back and smiled, then continued on her way.

"I hope you two are feeling a little better now, knowing you guys get beds and I don't." Leon cracked a smile.

Sara sighed. "Not the time for sarcasm, Leon."

"Where's the joy and excitement? We just saved this village."

"I'm just more tired and hurting than anything right now."

"Well I guess it a good time for you to head to the infirmary then." Leon then helped Sara up. "Do you need help walking?"

Sara shook her head. "Not as much as Eli does."

Leon nodded, helped Eli up, and then they all made their way to the infirmary.

Th infirmary itself was simple in design. It looked like a standard log cabin, but it also had what appeared to be some sort of medicine on a sign hanging over the door. Without it, the building would look like every other one in the village.

When they arrived, the Grovyle was waiting in the main room of the building. "I have a room ready for the two of you. Follow me."

They were led through the back of the building to a small room. Inside were two beds on opposite ends of the room. Yet, they were almost touching. There was also a small table next to both beds.

"I'm sorry for the lack of space," The Grovyle said, "but I also live here."

"It's okay," Sara responded. "We'll be fine."

The Grovyle nodded. "I'll be back. I need to go get proper bandages and medicine to help with those injuries." She then left the room

"Well, goodnight you two. I'll see you both in the morning." Leon then left the infirmary, leaving Eli and Sara alone in the room.

After a few moments of silence, Sara spoke. "Hey, Eli?"

"Hmm?"

Sara sighed. "I just wanted to say thanks for saving Leon and I. We couldn't have won without your help."

Eli was shocked. "Oh... I, uh... You're welcome. I'm just sorry I couldn't help before you got hurt."

"It's fine. I'm just happy Leon's alright."

"You really care about Leon, don't you?"

She blushed. "I-It's just... I made a promise to someone that I'd keep him safe. I'll make sure to honor that promise until I die."

Eli nodded. "Also, that Blaziken knew you. How?"

Sara froze. "I-I... It's not important."

Eli nodded again. _I can't press her further. Not yet._

Soon, the Grovyle came back, her arms full of various medical supplies.

"I'm sorry. It took longer than I thought it would to find everything."

She walked over to Sara and set her supplies down on the table next to Sara's bed. The Grovyle then took off Sara's bandages.

"You got lucky. Whatever did this to your head could've done much worse."

"I certainly don't feel lucky."

"Well you're about feel a lot worse for a few minutes." She grabbed some new bandages and rubbed a light blue mixture on them.

"When I apply this medicine, it will hurt at first. Are you ready?"

Sara nodded reluctantly and braced herself.

The Grovyle then began wrapping Sara's wounds. Sara's face contorted with pain, but she remained silent. Soon, the Grovyle had finished treating Sara, and had turned her attention on Eli.

"The same warning goes for you," she said as she undid Eli's bandages and prepared more. "Ready?"

Eli nodded. The second the bandage touched his wound, he felt like his leg was engulfed by a raging inferno. He was struggling not move his leg away from the Grovyle. Quickly, she finished and began gathering the medicine.

"Thanks," Sara said. Exhaustion and pain were evident in her voice.

The Grovyle turned and smiled. "No problem. If you two need anything just call for me. My name is Bloom."

Sara nodded. "Well, l'm Sara and that's Eli. The other Pokémon who was with us is Leon."

Bloom nodded, then left the room.

In order to distract himself from the pain, Eli began studying the room they were in. There was a small shelf on the wall that Eli had missed before. It was lined with books, but the shelf was high enough that Eli couldn't read most of the names of the books. Of the ones he could read, he could see the beginning them. One book that caught his eye was one that seemed to about herbs and medicines.

 _Leon seems to have basic medical knowledge._ Eli thought. _Also, Oran berries seem to have some healing properties. However, it wouldn't hurt to do a little more research on the medicine here._

Finally, the pain stopped and was replaced by a soothing numbness that washed over Eli's body, allowing him to drift off to sleep.


End file.
